Roll film holder for press type cameras



Sept. 9, 1952 L. G. TATRO ROLL FILM HOLDER FOR PRESS TYPE CAMERAS 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed Aug. 27, 1949 'AT'TORWEY ii-zo 6 Sept. 9, 1952 G. TATRO ROLL FILM HOLDER FOR PRESS TYPE CAMERAS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 27, 1949 MD \R 5 7 1V 2N T 7 I 4 6 m MW M M w m unexposed film, to

fatenteci Sept. 9, 1952" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLL FILM HOLDER FOR PRESS TYPE CAMERAS Lysle G. Tatro, Los Angelcs, Calif. Application August 27, 1949, Serial No. 112,681

This invention relates to a roll film holder for a press type camera. Its general object is to provide, as an accessory for a press type camera, a holder having a portion for insertion into a camera and another portion for containing two film spools, with the film travelling from one spool into the portion that is in the camera and back to the other spool.

An object of the invention is to provide a counter adapted to count the number of exposures and to accurately indicate the proper position of the film for each new exposure. Another object is to provide a novel and improved arrangement for braking the spool that holds the prevent coasting thereof.

Another object is to provide an improved mounting arrangement for the back member of a press type camera.

Other objects will become apparent in the ensuing specifications and appended drawings in which:

Fig. l is a rear view of a press type camera with a film holding attachment embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the film holder;

Fig. 4 is a rear view of the film holder;

Fig. 5 is a view of the film holder opened up to display its interior;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 15-45 of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 'I--'I of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a detail, sectional plan view of one side of the holder, opened;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional View taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a detail of the counter actuating cam, taken as indicated by the line Ill-40 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a detail sectional view taken on the line ll-l| of Fig. 9 and illustrating a portion of the counting mechanism;

Fig. 12 is a detail sectional view of one of the retractable spool trunnions; and

Fig. 13 is a detail sectional view taken on the line l3-|3 of Fig. 1.

As an example of one form in which the invention may be embodied, I have shown in the drawings a press type camera which in general embodies a casing or light box 15 having at its rear side an exposure opening l6 (Figs. 6 and 13) having, above and below said opening [6, flanges 11 adapted to receive between them a slide holder or film l8, and having a back member l9 for holding the slide holder or film holder [8 8 Claims. (01. 95-34) in position between the flanges l1 and in registry with the exposure opening l6.

Film holder 11 includes generally a flat shallow portion C extending from one end thereof to an intermediate point, and a deeper spool housing portion D extending from that intermediate point to the other end thereof. The shallow portion C is adapted to be received in the camera and the portion D contains the film spools. The film holder H has a housing which is constructed in two sections A and B, joined.

. by a hinge 29. Body section A (Fig. 6) has a pair of forward walls 2| and 22 disposed in closely adjacent, parallel planes, spaced slightly apart to provide a slot 23 in which is received a dark slide 24. The forward walls 2|, 22 are cut away to provide an exposure opening 25 adapted to register with the exposure opening [6 of the camera. Behind the exposure opening 25 is a platen 28 which is parallel to wall 22 and spaced slightly rearwardly therefrom to provide a space 21 through which a film may travel, with a section of the film bearing against the forward face of the platen 26 in a position to be exposed through exposure openings 16 and 25. From the respective sides of forward walls 21, 22, housing body section B has side walls 29 extending rearwardly, and from the outer end of the shallow housing portion C of body section A, an end wall 29 extends rearwardly. In the spool housing portion D of the body section A, side walls 29 are broadened to the full depth of portion D, as indicated in Fig. 9 at 30. At the outer end of housing portion D, body section A has a quarter cylindrical end wall 3| extending from wall 22 to hinge 20.

Cover section B includes a rear wall 32 for the shallow housing portion C, a rear wall32' for spool housing portion D, and quarter cylindrical end wall portions 33 and for spool housing section D, extending from rear wall 32 to rear wall 32 and from rear wall 32' to hinge 2!] respectively. The margins of wall portions 32, 33, 32 and 34 are formed with light sealing channels 35 which receive light sealing flanges 36 at the margins of walls 29,39, 29, and 3| of body section A. The outer end of wall member 32 is provided with a securing element 31 which coacts with end wall 29' of body section A to secure the sections A and B together. Mounted in an opening in a side wall member 30, adjacent inner end wall member 33 of film housing section D is a retractable trunnion unit shown in Fig. 12.

Such unit includes a bearing bushing 38 secured in wall member 30 by a cap 39 threaded on its outer end, a trunnion 40 slidably mounted in bushing 38 and having a stem' 4| projecting through cap 39, and a spring 42 acting under compression between cap 39 and trunnion 40 to urge the latter inwardly. This unit may be of conventional construction and forms no part of the present invention. A second trunnion (Fig. 5) is fixed in the otherend wall member 30 in a position aligned with the retractable trunnion 40. An idler, or unexposed film spool 43 is journalled on these two trunnions, adjacent end wall member 33.

Adjacent the outer end wall members 3!, 34 of spool housing section D, a second retractable trunnion unit 49' similar to that just described, is mounted in the same end wall member 30. Mounted in the other end wall 30, in alignment with retractable trunnion unit 40a, is a winding spindle (Fig. 5) having a knob 45 for manual actuation thereof and a flattened inner end 45 for driving clutching engagement with a winding spool 41.

Platen 25 is preferably of sheet metal, mounted in body housing section A upon shoulders 48 projecting inwardly from side walls 29 thereof. Platen 26 may be secured to shoulders 58 by screws 49 (Fig. 8'). At the outer end of platen 25, the corners thereof have ears 5i in which are journalled the respective ends of an idler roller 52. Ears 5! are disposed at right angles to the plane of platen 25 and project beyond the end thereof in order that roller 52 may lie in the plane of the platen.

Film'28 leaves the forward side of unexposed film spool 33, passes around the inner extremity of'wall .32 and between shoulders 53 (Fig. '7) at the sides thereof, passes around idler roller 52 andback through space 21, bearing against the forward face of platen 23, and thence extends diagonally from the inner end of platen 25 to the rear "side of winding spool 47; The stretch of film extending from the end of platen 26 to spool 41 bears against the film leaving spool 43. The direction of travel of the film as it is. advanced from one exposure to another, is indicated by arrow 55 in Fig.1 6, and the direction of rotation of the spools, as viewed-in Fig. 6 is counterclockwise as indicated by the arrows. It may now be noted that the movement of the film from the end of platen 26 to Winding spool 47 is opposed to the movement of the film leaving spool 43, whereby the drag of the stretch of exposed film against spool 43 resists the unwinding rotation thereof and tends to rotate spool 43 in the opposite direction and to wind the film thereon. Thus it is possible to dispense with any braking mechanism for spool 43, and there is a constant action, against this spool tending to wind it up at all, times when the film is being moved.

.Theinvention provides a counter mechanism which is operated directly from the film so as to register accurately. The film movement is transferred to the counter mechanism through roller 52,. the surface of which is roughened, as by knurling, in order to prevent any slippage between the film and the roller. -At one end of roller 52, bearing ear 5| is extended to form a bearin ear 55 which is disposed at right angles to ear 5|. Slidably mounted in ear 56 is one end of a push rod 51. A cam 58 on the end of roller 52 (Fig. bears against the projecting end of rod 57 so that, as roller ,52 rotates, rod 5'! will be reciprocated. Cam 58 may be of a simple spiral type as illustrated in Fig. 10. When the holder is closed, push rod 51 is received in a channel 85 in a shoulder 51.

Mounted in upper wall member 33, intermediate winding spindle 45 and retractable trunnion 40, is a counter assembly which includes a shaft 59 journalled in an opening in the wall 33, an indicator dial 53 secured to the outer end of shaft 59, and a ratchet wheel ill secured to the inner end of shaft 59. Indicator dial also includes a setting knob 52, and is providedwith indicator numerals 1-8 inclusive, cooperable with an indicator mark 85 (Fig. 2) to indicate film position. 'Interposed between ratchet wheel 6i and wall member 33 and journalled on trunnion 55, is a crank 63 having a forwardly extending arm 54 to which the other end of push rod 5'! is pivoted at 65. Crank 53 has a rearwardly eXtending arm 65 to which is pivoted a pawl 57. Crank 63 has an car 58 into which is hooked one end of a tension spring 59, the other end of spring 53 being anchored to wall 3ii-at l5. A holding pawl H, pivoted to wall 35 as by means of a screw 12, is yieldingly urged against ratchet wheel 5| by a spring l3 one end of which is anchored in pawl ll and'the other end of which is anchored to Wall 3il as by means of a pin'l4.

My improved plate holder clamp (Figs. 1, 2 and 13) comprises a pair of leaf springs 15 each pivoted at its respective ends, to the respective ends of back member id. The central portion of each spring 15 is anchored by an internally threaded sleeve l5 threaded onto a stud 11 that is mounted in a respective flange ll. Sleeves may have at their outer ends screwdriver slots T8 for coaction with a screw driver, in order that they may be tightened down against springs 15, or loosened therefrom.

A pressure bar 79, having feet 83 for bearing against back member I9, has at its respective ends openings through which are extended thum b screws 8!, threaded into the outer ends of sleeves l6. 7

Back member 13 has its right end conventionally bevelled as at 82 to facilitate entry of shallow portion C of film holder E8 between the back member and the camera casing l5. Leaf springs 75 yieldingly oppose the rearward springing of back member [9 as the film holder is inserted into the camera and, as theholder reaches its operative position in the camera, presses the holder forwardly, causing a flange 83 on forward wall 2i to enter a groove 34 in casing [5. Flange 83 thereafter cooperates with groove 84 to hold the holder in its proper operative position.

During the insertion of the film holder, screws 8! are backed oil so that pressure bar 19 does not interfere with the rearward yielding of back member l9. After insertion of the holder, screws 51 are tightened up to draw pressure bar '15 tightly against the holder l8, positively holding it in its operative position, and preventing any accidental dislodgement of the holder from the camera. It thus becomespossible to carry the camera by its handle 85 (Fig. 1) with the film holder I"! hanging downwardly, without running any risk of the film holder dropping out of the camera.

The counter mechanism operates as follows: When the holder is loaded, spool 47 is initially rotated until the conventional starting mark appearing on the film arrives at a predetermined position in casing section A. The dial is then rotated from knob 52 so as to rotate ratchet wheel 63 clockwise as viewed in Fig. 9, ratcheting itagainst pawls 61 and 1|, until an S character, which appears on dial 60 between the characters 5 and 6 on the dial, is opposite indicator mark 85. The holder is then closed, and knob 45 is turned, advancing the film, until the indicator character 1 is opposite mark 85. The film is then in position for the first exposure. After the exposure has been made, knob 45 is again turned until indicator numeral 2 appears opposite mark 85, when the film will be in position for the next exposure. During the movement from position 1 to position 2, the operator will hear a faint click resulting from the dropping of pawl 61 over the points of teeth of ratchet wheel 63, and, immediately following said faint click, a louder click resulting from the dropping of push rod 51 off the high point of cam 58. The fourth set of clicks signals the arrival of the film at a new exposure position, and may be utilized, when desired, as an audible means of guaging the advancement of the film in the dark. That is to say, the operator will count the pairs of clicks produced at pawl 61 and cam 58 respectively, and will stop the winding operation when the fourth set of clicks has occurred. The occurrence of the second, louder click of this fourth pair will signal the positioning of the film in the exactly correct position for the next exposure. The preceding lighter click of pawl 61 serves as a warning signal.

It will now be apparent that I have provided a means for both visual and audible gauging of the position of the film in the film advancing operation.

I claim:

1. In a roll film holder for a press type camera, a housing having at one end a shallow portion for insertion into the camera and at its othei end a deeper portion for enclosing a pair of film spools, a winding spindle for one of said spools, trunnions for the other spool, said spindle and trunnions being rotatably mounted in said deeper portion on axes transverse to and spaced longitudinally of said housing, a dial for indicating the position of the film in the housing, a ratchet wheel inside the housing intermediate said spindle and one of. said trunnions, a pawl to operate said ratchet wheel, a roller at the end of said shallow portion, around which the film passes from one spool to the other, a cam on the end of said roller, and a push rod having one end bearing against said cam and its other end drivingly connected to said pawl, said push rod extending lengthwise through said shallow portion adjacent a side wall thereof.

2. In a roll film holder for a press type camera, a housing having a shallow portion for insertion into the camera and a deeper portion for enclosing a pair of film spools, a roller at the end of the shallow portion, around which the film passes from one spool to the other, a cam on an end of said roller, a push rod having one end actuated by said cam and extending longitudinally through said shallow portion into said deeper portion, a bell crank pivotally mounted a in said deeper portion and having an arm pivoted to said push rod, a ratchet wheel journalled on the axis of said bell crank, a pawl carried by another arm of said bell crank and in driving engagement with said ratchet wheel, said push rod deriving advancing movement from said cam to rotate said ratchet wheel one step, and spring means acting against said bell crank to effect return movement of said push rod.

3. In a roll film holder for a press type camera, a housing having a shallow portion for in sertion into the camera and'a deeper portion for enclosing a pair of film spools, a roller at the end of the shallow portion, around which the film passes from one spool to the other, a cam on an end of said roller, a push rod having one end actuated by said cam and extending longitudinally through said shallow portion into said deeper portion, a lever pivotally mounted in said deeper portion and associated therewith to receive advancing movement transmitted through said push rod from said roller, a ratchet wheel journalled on the axis of said lever, a pawl carried by said lever and in driving engagement with said ratchet wheel, and spring means acting against said lever to effect return movement of said push rod.

4. In a roll film holder for a, press type camera, a housing having a shallow portion for insertion into the camera and a deeper portion for enclosing a pair of film spools, a roller at the end of the shallow portion, around which the film passes from one spool to the other, a push rod, means converting rotary movement of said roller into reciprocating movement of said push rod, said push rod extending longitudinally through said shallow portion into said deeper portion, a lever pivotally mounted in said deeper portion and associated therewith to receive advancing movement transmitted through said push rod from said roller, a ratchet wheel journalled on the axis of said lever, a pawl carried by said lever and in driving engagement with said ratchet wheel.

5. A roll film holder as defined in claim 4, wherein said shallow housing portion has therein a longitudinal channel in which said push rod is slidably received.

6. In a roll film holder for a press type camera, a housing having at one end a shallow portion for insertion into the camera and at its other end a deeper portion for enclosing a pair of film spools, a winding spindle for one of said spools, trunnions for the other spool, said spindle and trunnions being rotatably mounted in said deeper portion on axes transverse to and spaced longitudinally of said housing, a platen around which the film travels from one spool to the other, said platen providing a bearing surface for supporting a section of film in a position for exposure, said deeper housing portion being offset rearwardly from said shallow portion and said trunnions and winding spindle having their axes disposed in a plane offset rearwardly from the plane of said platen, the film passing from the platen to the remote spool, bearing against the film on the near spool and applying a braking action upon said near spool to restrain coasting thereof.

7. In a roll film holder for a press type camera, a housing having at one end a shallow portion for insertion into the camera and at its other end a deeper portion for enclosing a pair of film spools, a winding spindle disposed adjacent the outer end of said deeper housing portion, for mounting one end of one of said spools, a pair of trunnions disposed adjacent the inner end of said deeper housing portion, for mounting the other spool, said spindle and trunnions being rotatably mounted in said deeper portion on axes transverse to and spaced longitudinally of said housing, and a platen in said shallow housing portion, around which the film travels from one spool to the other, said platen providing a bearing surface for supporting a Section of film in a position for exposure thereof, said deeper housing portion being offset rear- Wardly from said shallow portion so that the film travels from the platen to the winding spool in a diagonal stretch, the other spool being positioned so that the film thereon will engage said diagonal stretch so as to restrain said other spool from coasting.

8. In a roll film holder for a press type camera, a housing having at one end a shallow portion for insertion into the camera and at its other end a deeper portion for enclosing a pair of film spools, apair of trunnions for the other spool, said spindle and trunnions being rotatably mounted in said deeper portion on axes transverse to and spaced longitudinally of said housing, a winding spindle for one of said spools, a

platen around which the film travels from one spool to the other, said platen providing a bearing surface forsupporting a section of film in 8 4 a position :for exposure, said platen being of sheet metaliand having a pair of ears projecting from its outer corners, said ears being bent at right angles to the plane of said platen, and a roller journalled in said ears, the film travelling around said roller and back across the bearing face of said platen.

LYSLE G. TATRO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 684,221 Gill Oct. 8, 1901 1,067,971 Buller July 22, 1913 1,191,632 Whatley July 18, 1916 1,213,694 Schultz Jan. 23, 1917 

